WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo cries inconsolably after AFC Champions League exit

New Delhi: It was quite a topsy turvy night for Al Ain at the AFC Champions League as they knocked out the Saudi Arabian powerhouses Al Nassr despite Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a late goal.

Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi was the only one to have scored a goal in the first half and helped his team win the match on Monday. It was Soufiane in the first half, who rose to the occasion and again in the second half as well as he scored another goal and extended his team’s lead to three goals.

Al Nassr then bounced back and reduced the three-goal deficit. Abdulrahman Ghareeb scored the first goal for Al Nassr and reduced the goal deficit to two by scoring a goal in the stoppage time of the first half. Al Nassr got a lifeline as Al Ain’s goalkeeper Khalid Eisa scored an own goal in the 51st minute and helped the Cristiano Ronaldo-led side bounce back. Al Nassr then levelled the score by scoring a goal in the 72nd minute courtesy of a free kick scored by former Manchester United full-back Alex Telles which took the game to extra time.

It was during the 97th minute when substitute Ayman Yaya received a cynical challenge, which was turned down by the VAR referee and he thus received a red card. Sultan-al-Shamsi then scored a goal in the 103rd minute and helped the team take the lead once again.

Al Nassr was trailing by one goal and had also lost one player but it was Cristiano Ronaldo, who tried to save the day. He scored his 878th goal and it was also his most important one while playing for Al Nassr. His goal led them to penalties.

But it was just not meant to be for Al Nassr as they crashed out of the tournament on penalties.

A distraught Ronaldo, who was left heartbroken following the loss, cried inconsolably on the field.

#Ronaldo just didn’t go to Saudi Arabia for money, he puts his heart and soul into every match. Just look at the emotions💔. Unlike sitting on the bench like other players, he’s playing with everything he has got, he was the only one who scored the penalty. The entire team missed pic.twitter.com/IK2ad3ohzH

— NickyBaba (@Nicky__Baba) March 11, 2024

It was Marcel Brozovic and Alex Telles, who missed the first two penalties for Al Nassr. Al Ain won the penalty shootout by 3-1 and have now qualified for the semifinals.